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Movies / On DVD / House of Sand and Fog
House of Sand and Fog

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House of Sand and Fog (2003)

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Reviews Counted:166

Fresh:125

Rotten:41

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: Powerful and thought provoking film.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some violence/disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 19, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $12,924,917

Synopsis: Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction... Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction and her husband's departure. Lost in her funk, she fails to check her mail, which includes letters threatening to evict her. After she is thrown out of the house she grew up in--wrongly, it turns out, so she seeks legal representation--Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley) buys the property at auction with the goal of selling it at a huge profit so his family can live a better life. Behrani, a former colonel in the Iranian army, is determined to make his family's move to the United States a successful one--nothing matters more to him than his wife and son's well-being. But when he sees Kathy sleeping in a car outside his fence, he knows he is in for a fight. Based on the book by Andre Dubus III, Vadim Perelman's directorial debut is a fascinating study of family in the United States. Kathy has no one to turn to--her father is dead, her husband has abandoned her, and she's too frightened to seek help from her mother or brother. She falls for Lester (Ron Eldard), a deputy sheriff who claims to no longer love his wife. And Behrani is so dedicated to his wife (Shohreh Aghidashloo in a riveting performance) and son (Jonahtan Ahdout) that he blinds himself to Kathy's dire situation. HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is a relentless, thought-provoking work that will linger with audiences long after the film ends. [More]

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Frances Fisher, Kim Dickens, Navi Rawat

Director: Vadim Perelman

Director: Vadim Perelman
Screenwriter: Vadim Perelman, Shawn Otto
Producer: Michael London, Vadim Perelman
Composer: James Horner
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Mar 30, 2004

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Reviews for House of Sand and Fog

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41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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Simplistic speculation that bases inner character on wrongheaded, at times offensive notions, of how a culture instead of the individual, gets revealed on screen.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
01/16/04
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/15/04
Anthony Breznican
Anthony Breznican
San Francisco Examiner

It falls apart in the third act when plot decays into melodrama.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
01/15/04
Kim Linekin
Kim Linekin
eye WEEKLY

A balanced tale of the American Dream gone awry, made compelling by outstanding performances from Kingsley and Connelly.

Full Review Source: Radio Free Entertainment | comment Comment
01/15/04
Andrew Manning
Andrew Manning
Radio Free Entertainment

While the plot of the film is not very believable, three great actors give performances deserving of Oscar consideration.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
01/13/04
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

The strength of the build-up is almost worth the tactless conclusion.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
01/13/04
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

I "only" give it Matinee rating because when all is said and done, the story didn't end up anywhere, nor did the characters grow or change in any way.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
01/12/04
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

truly a haunted house film... a viper's nest of touchy issues, including discrimination... prejudice and the question of who is entitled to what in our society.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
01/11/04
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

Grey and deliberate... akin to one of those T-shirts packed in a can of compressed air; it’s a movie so tightly spring-wound that you hardly stop to ponder its imponderables.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | comment Comment
01/09/04
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today

An engrossing, deeply affecting drama.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
01/09/04
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

For Kingsley's and Connelly's performances alone, it's worth seeing. It’s far from tawdry melodrama, but its insistence on a middle-road keeps it from being more high-minded.

Full Review Source: State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) | comment Comment
01/09/04
Nick Rogers
Nick Rogers
State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

Kingsley's skill is ours to enjoy throughout this film, which opens our eyes so we can squint through the fog.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
01/09/04
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

All of a sudden, House of Sand and Fog turned into one of the saddest flicks I've seen in a long time with an extremely powerful performance by Ben Kingsley.

Full Review Source: Broomfield Enterprise | comment Comment
01/07/04
Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi
Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi
Broomfield Enterprise

What is probably the best-written film of the year functions as a thriller and as a human drama.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/06/04
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Soap Operatic to the extreme, this stolen-house fall-out is as melodramatic as it pretentious

Full Review Source: Peterborough This Week | comment Comment
01/05/04
Mike Sage
Mike Sage
Peterborough This Week

Triste e moralmente complexo, o filme se encaixa com perfeição no Grande Tema de 2003: o drama familiar.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
01/05/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

It would be hard to imagine two more different adversaries wedged into the same taut, tragic drama.

Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
01/02/04
Donald Munro
Donald Munro
Fresno Bee

Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley shine despite a few unvarnished rough spots in this human drama.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
01/01/04
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

Not nearly as interesting or nuanced as it seems to think it is

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
12/31/03
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Arguably the most powerful film of 2003.

Full Review Source: Supercala.com | comment Comment
12/31/03
Paul Salfen
Paul Salfen
Supercala.com
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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